When I was seven I was given a Petra waffle iron for Christmas. Since then it has provided me with hours of entertainment and some very tasty results. The addition of walnuts is genius and adds a little crunch to these light and fluffy waffles (apologies for the many adjectives… I’m starting to sound like Nigella). They also increase in flavour as the nuts are toasted whilst the waffles cook.

I’m a big lover of ginger, especially in the colder months – it’s so warming and feels like it does some good. Stem ginger works particularly well with créme fraîche in custard based ice-cream. The combination off-sets a lot of the sweetness and richness, which I often find a little too tricky to deal with in creamy desserts… even more so at the end of a big wintery meal.

Ingredients

450ml whole milk

0.5 tsp vanilla extract

6 egg yolks

170g unrefined caster sugar (I use vanilla sugar)

300ml double cream

300ml crème fraîche

14 small pieces stem ginger (I used the Biona brand)

1.5 tbsp stem ginger syrup

Method

Heat the milk and vanilla essence in a pan till just below boiling point. Leave off the heat for about ten minutes.

While the milk is cooling a little, whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl with an electric whisk till paler and thickened – when you lift the whisk it should drop forming thickish ribbons.

carefully pour a little of the hot milk into the egg yolk mix whilst whisking, ensuring that the eggs don’t cook. Continue to pour in all the milk, whisking continuously.

Before the next stage of cooking fill your sink part way with cold water. and place a sieve on top of a bowl big enough to hold the ice-cream mix.

Pour the mixture back into a heatproof pan and place it under a low heat for about 8-10 minutes, stirring continuously (I use a heat distributor mat). The mixture should thicken slightly (to the point where it thinly coats the back of a wooden spoon). This process can happen very quickly and if you’re not careful it will curdle!

Once thickened, quickly pour the custard through the sieve into the bowl and place the bowl in the sink so the cold water surrounds it. Whisk the mixture continuously till it has cooled.

Once cool, whisk in the double cream and crème fraîche.

Place the ice-cream mix in a blender with 12 pieces of stem ginger and the syrup. Blend till smooth. *If you don’t have a large blender, you can make a concentrate syrup by whizzing the stem ginger and syrup on its own and then stirring it into the mix.

Try the mix, it should taste noticeably of ginger.

Finely chop the final 2 pieces of stem ginger and stir in.

Pour the mix into your ice-cream maker and follow the manufacturers instructions. It may not freeze as well as normal ice-cream due to the ginger syrup, but it will eventually when it’s transferred to a metal tin and put in the freezer (I use a rectangular cake tin).

If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, just pour the mix directly into your metal tin, place in the freezer, and stir it every 1-2 hours to break up larger ice crystals.

Remove the ice-cream from the freezer about five minutes before serving, to allow it to soften a little.

This recipe came about when I wanted to make a healthier version of normal American pancakes. I find gluten free buckwheat pancakes on their own very bland. But, by adding oats and toasting the hazelnuts, you are rewarded with a strong nutty flavour as well as a crunchy interior. If you’re feeling gutsy, the melting Nutella and peanut butter centres are a real treat, and I recommend serving your pancakes with lots of maple syrup and crispy bacon. However, if you have the will-power to resist temptation, these also taste great with blueberry sauce or raspberry coulis.

Ingredients

1/2 cup lightly toasted hazelnuts, skins removed

1/2 cup whole rolled oats

3/4 cup buckwheat flour

1 banana torn into small pieces

2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp sour cream

milk

melting middle – peanut butter (I use Meridian crunchy), Nutella

Method

Put the oats and toasted hazelnuts in a blender and process till the hazelnuts are broken down into smaller pieces, but not ground into powder.

Tip the oats and hazelnuts into a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder and sugar. Mix till fully incorporated.

Whisk in the egg, sour cream, banana and enough milk to form an american pancake batter consistency, do not over mix! – the oats and hazelnuts help hold the pancake together in the pan.

Lightly butter a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat.

When the butter has melted pour a tablespoon of pancake batter into your pan. If you want to have a nutella or peanut butter melting middle, dollop a teaspoon of your spread onto the batter at this point and cover the spread with a little more batter.

When bubbles appear on the pancake and the bottom feels reasonably firm, flip the pancake with a spatula and leave till golden brown.

Keep these warm in the oven on a low heat before serving with butter, maple syrup and if you really want to treat yourself, some crispy bacon.

Whenever I go to Brighton and I’m in the Lanes I treat myself to a big frozen yogurt from Lick (which has sadly closed down!). The ‘Froyo’ is more acidic and clean-tasting than your normal ice-cream and doesn’t leave you feeling too porky – which is rather deceiving given my preference for gutsy toppings. Last year I was given an ice-cream maker for my birthday. It’s a Cuisinart ice-cream deluxe model and is different to others in that the bowl rotates rather than the paddle which means, unlike my previous model, the motor doesn’t give up when the ice-cream starts to thicken. I base my frozen yoghurt on the SNOG recipe, but add a lot less agave nectar and use full-fat yoghurt rather than the zero-fat malarky which SNOG proposes.

I’ve eaten English custard tarts before and sadly wasn’t impressed by their general soggy texture and bland appearance. However, I was bowled over by the rustic looking Portuguese custard tart – though similar in name, the two are incomparable in all other domains. A family friend gave me an amazing recipe book called ‘Coffee and Bites’ by Susie Theodorou. Her recipe for these tarts is easy to follow and the custard is so delicious I now use it in other recipes. I’ve taken a few photos so pastry preparation is easier to understand.

I love eating dates stuffed with peanut butter – it’s a match made in heaven. So I thought I’d make a granola recipe out of this dynamic duo. The quinoa adds even more crunch and using coconut oil rather than other oils makes it that little bit yummier. If you want even more coconutty flavour I recommend adding 30g desiccated coconut.

This is the second time I will be mentioning Juliet’s Cafe on my blog but their cakes are just TOO GOOD! They make an amazing gluten free lemon feather cake that I feel I have successfully replicated by tweaking a recipe I found online. I made this cake for Easter Sunday decorating it with daffodils. It’s incredibly soft and airy, good news after a hefty lunch, and tastes great with lots of whipped cream and lemon curd in the middle. The original recipe calls for potato starch but if you can’t find it I’ve read that cornstarch is a suitable substitute.

Ingredients

Cake:
220g caster sugar
6 large eggs
pinch of salt
zest of 1 lemon and 2.5 tbs juice
150g potato starch - found in whole foods shops and very similar to cornstarch

Filling:

lemon curd – recipe on blog under ‘icings/fillings’

300ml whipping cream

Method
Cake:

preheat the oven to 150C/140C fan. Grease and line a deep 22cm cake tin so the baking parchment sticks out above the ridge of the tin (the cake rises a lot). Tins with removable bases are very useful for this recipe.

Separate the eggs and then whisk the yolks and sugar in a large bowl until pale yellow in colour, airy and no longer grainy – this takes a while.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with salt until stiff peaks form.

Fold half the whites carefully into the yolks. Once completely combined fold in the remaining half. Add in the lemon zest and juice and stir gently.

Sift in the potato starch – add very little at a time and stir very gently as you sift to prevent it clumping.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and place in the preheated oven.

Bake for 1 hour until the cake is well-risen and golden. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes or so.

Remove from the tin and leave to cool

Filling:

Once cool slice the cake in half horizontally using a serrated knife.

Whip the cream to the desired consistency – I like it quite soft but thick enough not to run out of the cake.

Spread the cream in the middle of the cake to form a thick layer.

Dollop the lemon curd onto the cream and marble it in using a teaspoon or knife – The quantity you put in the filling is dependent on how lemony you want your cake to taste. The sponge itself is very subtle so I like to use quite a lot of curd and then serve the cake with a bowl of lemon curd on the side for those who want extra.

Place the upper layer of the cake onto of the filling and press down a little.